nabbers Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 (edited) Moved into this house 3 years ago and at this time of year started getting bites, on my ankles, cant see by what, but the place which has since been massively renovated by me previously smelled very much of dog from last owner upstairs. I would go out every morning then giving hay to horses so I thought it was insects in the straw etc that were biting me. The horses left, but the bites continued so I let off some flea smoke bombs, dosed the dog, and they went away for a short while, so when they came back I repeated, they went away, returning last year at this time of year so I dosed the dog and bought a gallon of flea killer on ebay, sprayed everywhere and had no problems all year, but again my legs are red and sore with bites, sprayed everywhere about three times now, dosed the dog but the ******* keep at me.... Flea smoke bombs tomorrow, any advice? Seen 1 or 2 dead ones but maybe my eye sight is ****, no live ones. Should I get a professional? Goes against the grain that! Edited November 10, 2016 by nabbers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 My brother rented his house out,no pets was on the rental agreement,he finally got rid of his last tenant with 5 cats, but she left millions of biting gifts. He tried the bombs and sprays no good as they came back at this time of year when the heating went back on.He got a professional in ,the house was sprayed top to bottom, he had to stay out of the house for 2 days, Never had a problem since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herby Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 Yes need to get the big guns in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 I once had a conversation with a bloke who cleared houses and what they used to do Was put down A4 sheets of paper on the floor and leave it for a while. If there were any unwanted they were attracted to the white paper. if anything was on the paper they sealed up the place with tape and set off some sort of insecticide smoke bomb thingy and left it for a couple of days. He said that one place that they did, all of the wallpaper came off of the walls like sheets of plywood. all of it was only being held on the walls by the thousands of bugs. The people who lived there must have been eaten alive. It must be sheer hell for a dog. It's bad enough when thunderbugs are about and you head itches. Blooming Pandora. If only she knew what she was doing when she opened that box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adge Cutler Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 You sure its fleas and couldn't possibly be bed bugs.. ? http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/bed-bugs/Pages/Introduction.aspx These are a lot commoner than people imagine and can often go completely undetected. We had a small infestation in our modern home last year, and couldn't for the life of us find the culprits.. Dogs were regularly treated against fleas yet the wife was waking up with bites on her arms and legs almost daily for a couple of weeks. We blitzed the bedroom, Hot washed all the bedding, gave it a thorough hoovering, and steam cleaned the soft furnishings, bed frame, skirtings . wardrobes the works.. Cleared up the day after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westmids1987 Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 Salt! lots and lots of salt,hoover 1st then cover the carpets move furniture etc.Every inch of flooring, beds etc have to be covered, Leave for 24hours and bingo no fleas!moved into a house that had fleas and wanted something safe for pets/kids and it worked. House smelt like the sea side but it works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabbers Posted November 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 Only my lower legs getting bitten so I think that rules out the bed bugs, but nobody else in the house is getting bitten! So I figure it is my bedroom where the problem is, I think they kept a dog in the bedroom. I used Bob Martin flea killer tht stuff you squeeze onto the skin on the back of your dogs neck, she isn't scratching at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 Only my lower legs getting bitten so I think that rules out the bed bugs, but nobody else in the house is getting bitten! So I figure it is my bedroom where the problem is, I think they kept a dog in the bedroom. I used Bob Martin flea killer tht stuff you squeeze onto the skin on the back of your dogs neck, she isn't scratching at all. You will often find some people don't get bitten and some do in a house. OH doesn't gets bitten. If we get any fleas on the dogs and cats I always get bites. We haven't had a problem since we swapped to Advantage as the Frontline wasn't working anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 It isn't just the fleas you've got to treat. There are all the eggs awaiting to hatch. Complete removal of fleas is not easy and so I'd recommend that you get a professional in who knows what they are doing and can guarantee a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 We had a cat years ago that went missing for months and then came back into the house without us noticing and hiding in one of the rooms. She had advanced cancer so she stayed put and undiscovered for a couple of days, by which time fleas were everywhere. It very quickly became an infestation. We dealt with it ourselves by bugbombing and spraying every inch of the house, which ended up costing as much as a professional treatment ironically. The key thing is that you must kill the eggs. If you don't they will just keep coming back. You have my sympathy, it's a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 Surprisingly I found Wilkinsons houshold flea spray at £4 a can amazingly good. I sprayed round all the floors, edges under furniture with it every month after the last lot and swapping to Advantage on the pets and it cleared them. I also have two lots of dog bed covers and change them every week. It probably helps that we have hard floors throughout with only washable mats by the outer doors. One of the cats sleeps on our bed, so I sprayed the mattress with the Wilko spray too and let it dry before putting clean bedding on, as the larval flea stage which looks like a very tiny maggot likes to get into dark warm areas and under the bottom sheet on top of the mattress is a favourite place for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 We had a cat years ago that went missing for months and then came back into the house without us noticing and hiding in one of the rooms. She had advanced cancer so she stayed put and undiscovered for a couple of days, by which time fleas were everywhere. It very quickly became an infestation. We dealt with it ourselves by bugbombing and spraying every inch of the house, which ended up costing as much as a professional treatment ironically. The key thing is that you must kill the eggs. If you don't they will just keep coming back. You have my sympathy, it's a nightmare. as zapp says....you must break the cycle....and eggs are very difficult to destroy.....proberly the best way to kill eggs under skirting boards etc is high temperature steam.....use one of them steam guns.........you must attack them from all sides for a mth...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab6110 Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 Next door to us had a problem with flea's from their cat. They now use Stronghold on the cat and the vet suggested that they sprayed the house with Acclaim Flea spray. The house has been sprayed then left for a couple of hours and they haven't had a problem since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry-M Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 ring your council pest control. we had an issue, some councils will do this for free, ours charged 50quid and the guys turn up with spray and will hose the whole place. they use much stronger stuff than you can buy commercially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 As previously said, u need to break the life cycle. Either get a commercial spray that does this (there's plenty that do and I normally have a can under the sink knocking about but don't today) or get a guy round to do it for u. Fleas are easy to remove, bed bugs I'd get a guy round as they are not easy to get rid of yourself and do require a dual application with some persistence to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabbers Posted November 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2016 A bite free night....Slept in my army sleeping bag. The penny dropped that; the animals aren't scratching, my daughter had a load of friends staying, non got bitten, and its only when Ive been in or on the bed that I am attacked. seems odd that its only my legs that got bitten because that seems more a flea thing, but Got the magnifying glass out and I'm pretty sure its actually bed bugs as Adge Cutler prophesied above ! Lots of tiny larvae Ordered a new mattress as this ones pretty old and new duvet and going to blitz the bedroom with smoke and steam and pesticides! Thanks for the advice, good to know its pretty common! Thanks for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted November 12, 2016 Report Share Posted November 12, 2016 Treat the mattress and vac it well before you take it through the house to dispose of it or you will shed them through the house. Alternatively if you can take the mattress through your bedroom window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lampwick Posted November 12, 2016 Report Share Posted November 12, 2016 (edited) A full sized adult bed bug is about the same size and shape as an apple pip! (Flat when hungry) If it is bed bugs don't waste your money on the product from the Internet promising the earth! I've treated homes for people who have spent £100+ on products promising the earth which simply don't cut the mustard! Bed bugs are difficult to get rid of! I would contact a couple of local pestles and get a bit of help!! By the way just for fun if you go down this route get a quote from Rentokil :) Also smoke bombs/sprays only kill what is active at the time the chemical is airborne! However if used in combination with a residual spray chances of getting the issue sorted go up! Make sure you ask what your getting for your money if you go professional! Watch out for the Cowboys! Edited November 12, 2016 by Lampwick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabbers Posted November 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2016 Treat the mattress and vac it well before you take it through the house to dispose of it or you will shed them through the house. Alternatively if you can take the mattress through your bedroom window. Going to place it in the bag the new one come in and seal it up! Funny aside....I used to live near this place that made really expensive pet beds and they used to chuck their seconds in a skip, so anytime I wanted a new pet bed I would go bin diving and take them for free. One day there was a really nice green tartan one in a clear plastic bag, the top of their range, I took it and put it under the stairs in my house where the dog lived, noticed it had been used so figured it was a warranty claim. The laugh was on me, the thing must have been riddled with fleas and soon my whole lounge carpet was full of them too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lampwick Posted November 12, 2016 Report Share Posted November 12, 2016 (edited) Going to place it in the bag the new one come in and seal it up! Funny aside....I used to live near this place that made really expensive pet beds and they used to chuck their seconds in a skip, so anytime I wanted a new pet bed I would go bin diving and take them for free. One day there was a really nice green tartan one in a clear plastic bag, the top of their range, I took it and put it under the stairs in my house where the dog lived, noticed it had been used so figured it was a warranty claim. The laugh was on me, the thing must have been riddled with fleas and soon my whole lounge carpet was full of them too! For info, bed bugs will also live on the bed frame, under the wooden slats, on the headboard, skirting board, behind sockets, blah, blah, blah!! Have a real good look about!!! Edited November 12, 2016 by Lampwick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.